Most dieters have probably lied to themselves about their food intake at some point. But not being honest in food diaries when on a doctor-prescribed diet or study can introduce serious inaccuracies and complicate any weight loss attempts. Since it seems we can't be trusted, researchers have developed a urine test that can independently measure the health of a person's diet in just five minutes.

The test was developed by researchers from Imperial College London, Newcastle University and Aberystwyth University and measures biological markers in urine created when foods such as red meat, chicken, fish, fruit and vegetables are broken down as they travel through our bodies. Additionally, the test can also provide an indication of a person's intake of fat, sugar, fiber and protein.

"A major weakness in all nutrition and diet studies is that we have no true measure of what people eat," says Professor Gary Frost, senior author of the study from the Department of Medicine at Imperial. "We rely solely on people keeping logs of their daily diets – but studies suggest around 60 per cent of people misreport what they eat to some extent. This test could be the first independent indicator of the quality of a person's diet – and what they are really eating."

The team's study involved 19 volunteers following four different diets, which ranged from very unhealthy to very healthy and were formulated using World Health Organization dietary guidelines. The volunteers followed their diets for three days and provided urine samples in the morning, afternoon and evening throughout the study. These samples were then analyzed for the presence of metabolites that are produced when certain foods are broken down in the body.

In addition to indicating foods like red meat, chicken, fish, fruit and vegetables, these metabolites can also indicate specific foods, such as citrus fruits, grapes and green leafy vegetables, and give a general picture of the amount of protein, fat, sugar and fiber eaten.

Using this information, the researchers were able to develop a urine metabolite profile indicating a healthy, balanced diet that included a good intake of fruit and vegetables. By comparing this "healthy diet" profile to the diet profile of an individual's urine could provide a quick and easy indication of whether the person is eating healthy or not.

To test the accuracy of the urine test, the researchers compared it to data from a previous study involving 291 volunteers who had kept information on their daily diets and provided urine samples. By analyzing these urine samples, the team was able to accurately predict the diet of the volunteers.

"For the first time, this research offers an objective way of assessing the overall healthiness of people's diets without all the hassles, biases and errors of recording what they've eaten," says Professor John Mathers, study co-author from the Human Nutrition Research Centre at Newcastle University.

However, the researchers point out that their work is still at the early stages and more needs to be done to improve the test. To this end, they are looking to conduct testing on more people and test its accuracy om an average person's diet outside of a research setting.

"We need to develop the test further so we can monitor the diet based on a single urine sample, as well as increase the sensitivity," says Dr Isabel Garcia-Perez, co-author from the Faculty of Medicine at Imperial. "This will eventually provide a tool for personalized dietary monitoring to help maintain a healthy lifestyle. We're not at the stage yet where the test can tell us a person ate 15 chips yesterday and two sausages, but it's on the way."

The researchers are hoping to have the test available to the public within two years, with the idea being people could collect their sample at home and deliver it to a local center for analysis, whether as part of a weight-loss effort, patient rehabilitation, or simply by individuals interested in learning more about the links between diet and health.

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Darren's love of technology started in primary school with a Nintendo Game & Watch Donkey Kong (still functioning) and a Commodore VIC 20 computer (not still functioning). In high school he upgraded to a 286 PC, and he's been following Moore's law ever since. This love of technology continues as Managing Editor of New Atlas.

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habakakJanuary 17, 2017 05:26 PM

People are unhealthy because either they have had some genetic bad luck (minority of cases), been in some unfortunate accidents (also a minority) or because they eat too much and exercise too little (my guess would be at least 90% of cases). It's not about WHAT you eat as it is about how much you eat. I eat garbage. I take in a lot of sugar and eat whatever I want, whenever I want. However I train consistently 3 or 4 days per week and walk a few miles almost every day. I am as fit and strong as a 20 year old and slot in the top 5% of people in my age-group when it comes to fitness and health. I am 47 years old and take no medication. I eat garbage. I eat whatever I want. I don't like salads and rarely eat fruits or vegetables because it's inconvenient (you have to grocery shop every 2 or 3 days) and most vegetables are boring. I also don't like the way vegetables are cooked in the US (steamed, always under-cooked, no salt and not a lot of variety) so I avoid it even more. I always add salt to almost all my food, I love butter (I do not dare eat bread without it) and I have at least 1 dessert a day. I don't smoke and don't drink much (although I drink as much alcohol as I want to when I feel like it, be it 8 double-Vodkas or a bottle of wine or 12 beers). What you eat is really not that important. I have met only a few people in my life who were sick or overweight and unhealthy because of factors outside of their control (genetic or accidents). Almost exclusively the hundreds of people I have met in my life are all fat or unhealthy or out of shape due to a lack of exercise and mostly due to eating too much.